My Favorite Things

Our trip to Italy | Rome (part due)

Friday, September 24, 2010

On Wednesday (3rd day in Rome) we left our bed and breakfast around 6:30 a.m. to go to Saint Peter’s Basilica. It was so quiet and peaceful. We walked right in (during the day there is always a long line) and were one of about 20 people inside. Wow!

We took the elevator to the top of the inside of the dome (previous picture shows the inside of the dome from below).

Then we began our climb of 320 steps to the very top of the cupola.

This is not for the faint of heart, knees or lungs. And it is definitely NOT for those who have a tendency to feel claustrophobic. (Confession: I seriously had to focus on keeping my breathing steady because I had never been in a situation like this. I was rather close to panicking because it started to feel like it was never going to end and I felt trapped. Cade helped me through it but I later passed on climbing the inside of the Duomo in Florence. Didn’t know I was so claustrophobic.)

What a view!!! There were only 2 people on the top of St. Peter’s with us! (Those are all buildings in the Vatican Museum to the lower right. The one on the far bottom is the Sistine Chapel.)

Inside the Vatican Museum… School of Athens by Raphael.

As you exit the Vatican Museum you walk down this really cool, spiral ramp.

Where’s Waldo, I mean “Where’s Cade”? =)

This is the plaza directly across from the Pantheon. At Night and Day (Piazza della Rotonda 14) you will get the best cappuccino in Rome! So delicious!

My other favorite place in Rome was La Fontana di Trevi. Whether during the day, or at night, it is a fascinating place to be.

We ended every evening we were in Rome with at least 20 minutes of relaxing in front of the fountain. And it’s true, the gelato is amazing!

I absolutely LOVE cobblestone streets with restaurants! Can you tell it is a very pedestrian friendly city?

And on a very random note: I find it fascinating to see how painters and sculptures depicted feet, specifically toes, during the Renaissance. I don’t know if this was just an average European body characteristic, or if it was something that they considered to be desirable at the time, but these marble toes look just like mine and Cade’s! Long live long toes. =)

Awesome pics of an awesome city reminding me of our awesome visit there nearly two years ago. The city hasn’t changed much since then (imagine that). We have pics of and from many of these same spots. I love that motor vehicles travel the alleys merely feet away from swanky restaurant tables. Fun times.

Oh you guys have transported me…absolutely stunning! I want to be there on those cobblestone streets and eating gelato by the fountain! Now if I can just get my honey to buck up and buy us some plane tickets